Seminoles Lose Top Recruit Pender for the Season

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher says his football team will have to play this season without highly touted running back recruit Mario Pender.

That's because Jimbo says, Pender will miss the season with a severe groin injury that requires surgery.

Yesterday before the first practice of the season, Fisher, while calling Pender's injury, suffered in spring drills, "severe", he still believed there was a good chance the freshman out of Cape Coral might still be able to play this season.

By Tuesday, however, Pender's status had changed, the coach saying the injury will require surgery and thus it will be a likely redshirt for Pender.

"Instead of making it worse, we're going to get it fixed and have him ready to go," Fisher said. "We'll probably redshirt him."

Pender, who rushed for over 15 hundred yards and 17 touchdowns in his senior season at Cape Coral, was an early enrollee this spring and figured to be in the mix for playing time this season.

Although fourth on the depth chart, virtually every member of Florida State's backfield is dealing with some lingering injury concerns.

Both Devonta Freeman and Chris Thompson missed the spring with injuries, while James Wilder Jr. was absent for a large portion of the spring because of legal difficulties.

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